Ray has lived in Northern California for most of his life. Not only does he live in Norcal, but his business is there as well. A-Applied Mailing Service, Inc. is located in Citrus Heights. He has been the owner at the same location since 1992.
Ray attended Oak Ave Elementary School (Now the Sunrise Technical Center), Louis Pasteur Middle School, and San Juan High School.
The Sacramento Bee was an afternoon paper during Ray’s childhood, and like many men of his generation, he made pocket money delivering newspapers after school. While in high school he worked part time at Sylvan Corners Veterinary Clinic.
After High School he went to the University of Notre Dame and graduated with a BA in History. After college and before he became a business owner, he worked for Nimbus Medical, Inc. Ray stepped away from the medical device world to join his mother and stepfather in a family-owned company. A-Applied Mailing Service is a small business that offers direct mail services.
Soon after, he became active in the Citrus Heights Chamber of Commerce. He has served on the Board of Directors for four 3-year terms.. While on the Chamber Board of Directors he served as the director of the Legislative Committee, the Education Committee, and as chair of Citrus Heights Chamber of Commerce Political Action Committee.
In 2001, Ray joined the Rotary Club of Citrus Heights where he engaged in local projects, including, distributing reference dictionaries to 3rd grade students in Citrus Heights Schools, supporting the Citrus Heights Police Department Police Activities League, and the City’s Christmas Basket program. The club works on many other community projects including providing shoes for students from elementary through high school. Their largest project to date is supporting the Citrus Heights Veterans Memorial Project Ray has served on the Board of Directors of the Citrus Heights Rotary Club for many years. He was Club President from 2011-2012 and again from 2021-2022.
Ray is vice-chair of The Citrus Heights Veterans Memorial Project which will bring a 95% scale copy of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to Citrus Heights.
From 2006 to 2010 Ray served on the San Juan Unified School District Measure S&J Bond Oversight Committee. The Bond Oversight Committee is responsible for reviewing projects and determining if they are appropriate uses of the bond funds.
In 2015 Ray was appointed to the Citrus Heights Water District (CHWD) Board of Directors. The CHWD serves approximately 20,000 consumers in Citrus Heights, Orangevale, Carmichael, and Fair Oaks. As a Board Member, Ray has worked with the other board members and with staff on the development of annual budgets as well as several significant projects. The most important project has been a long-term water main replacement program. By looking ahead 50 to 70 years, the CHWD will ensure that safe and affordable water be available for future generations.
Ray’s experiences as a business owner, board member of local organizations, and an elected water board member have taught him that resources are limited and must be effectively managed. This lesson seems to have been lost in the federal government.
Ray and his wife, Diane, have 7 children, 5 grandchildren, and 2 great grandchildren. They live happily in Citrus Heights.